India’s perspective of Australia: Dumb, Drunk and Racist?

IS Australia full of dumb, drunk and racist people? The ABC’s new documentary will flush out the truths and untruths of the Aussie stereotype with the help of four Indian tourists.

The ABC2’s new six-part documentary Dumb, Drunk and Racist airs tomorrow night, and explores whether Australia really is a country full of dumb, drunk and racist people.

Presented by controversial journalist Joe Hildebrand, the show takes four Indians on a journey around Australia looking at “the good, the bad and the bogan” of the country. The chosen four Indian participants are solely from India because of the controversial findings of an ABC survey which found 40 per cent of Indians were scared to travel to Australia.

Each of the participants have their own reasons why they’re on the show.

Mahima Bhardwaj works in a call centre and has often been on the receiving end of racial abuse from Australians, while journalist Gurmeet Chaudhary reads news stories often telling of violent attacks on Indians in Australia.

Law student Amer Singh has been told “You’re going to get beaten up, you are an Indian”, and education advisor Radhika Budhwar says she never recommends Australia as a place for Indians to go and study.

Each half-an-hour documentary will focus on different aspects of Australian life, from the natural beauty of the beaches and land to the Indigenous issues that are hidden away in Australian history and everyday life.

The ABC’s website for the program takes a look at the many dumb, drunk and racist things Australians do that can be found on the web. It also features a map of stereotypes around the world with “Call Centres” written over India and Australia left blank. The ABC2 Facebook page also invites fans to suggest how Australia should be stereotyped.

With a large online presence supporting the program, it looks as though the show may provoke quite a discussion around the issue of racism.

Whether Australia really is a country of dumb, drunk and racist people also remains to be seen, but the documentary will no doubt touch on some sore points as to how Indians think of Australia.